Latest / Scripture Central / Alma 30–31 | July 15–21 | John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson | Come Follow Me Book of Mormon

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Alma 30–31 | July 15–21 | John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson | Come Follow Me Book of Mormon · Scripture Central

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Welcome back to Scripture Central.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson. And I'm Jack Welch.
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Here to talk about Alma, chapters 30 and 31.
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This is such an interesting placement.
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We're right in the middle of the book of Alma, and we've just
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finished the wonderful missionary experiences of the
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sons of Mosiah in bringing so many thousands and thousands of
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Lamanites up to join the traditions of Lehigh and the
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looking forward to the coming of Christ.
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And then we have an Antichrist Cora whore.
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And followed on the other side of chapter 31 is Alma's
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successful missionary work to the poor of the Zoramites.
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He also has unsuccessful missionary work with the other
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Zoramites. But it's interesting where this
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chapter of Korahor is placed. And it's not just significant
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because it's in the middle of the book, but it is significant
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that sandwiched between these two missionary stories, we have
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a very important date. And Jacket says that in this
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chapter, chapter 30, we've finished the 16th year of the
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reign of the Judges. They're bearing their dead.
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It's a time of mourning. And then in verse six, it's the
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17th year of the reign of the judges. 17 + 33 is the time
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period back to King Benjamin. It's the 50th year.
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Whether it was actually a jubilee, it might have been.
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It's possible that King Mosiah was crowned by his father on a
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jubilee year. Because a lot of the things that
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he talks about there about taking care of the poor and
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giving to the needy. And those are all the kinds of
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things that in a in a jubilee year, that was the year of
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release and liberty for those things.
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And so it could be that those 33 years which were counted very
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carefully, that Mosiah reign and then and we have now the 17th
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year plus the 33 who we're now in the 50th year.
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But Jack. If it's a Jubilee year, why have
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we got Cora whore? Why have we got our third
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Antichrist? You know, we had Sharam in Jacob
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Seven, we had Nihor in Alma one, and now we have the third, a
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person who's a servant of the devil.
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That's really elaborated to give us a full character.
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Korahor, Alma Chapter 30. Why is this here?
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Well, Korahor is a very smart guy and it does say in verse six
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that there came a man into the land of Zarahemla.
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He's an outsider. He is an outsider.
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We don't know where he's come from, but the name Cor and Cora
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Horror and things like that do have Jaredite antologues.
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Oh, that's right, Coriantomer. And so he might be a survivor of
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the Jaredite or Mulekite world, we don't know.
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He hasn't, it appears, been very integrated into obviously the
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the Nephite leadership. But he knows the people and and
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he has some kind of axe to grind against the people in Nephi.
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We don't know what it is he wants to tear down more than
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build up and he's always speaking against things and what
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people shouldn't do and what the leaders ought not to do.
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What he hopes to get out of this, I'm not sure.
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Well, he's completely ridiculous in claiming that Alma is doing
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this for money. I mean, he attacks Alma by
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saying you're doing this for money.
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Alma says I have No, you have no evidence of that.
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Well, Core horse smart enough to look around and see that Alma,
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although he doesn't get paid, has control of all of the
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tithing and donations that come into the temple.
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Alma has glorious robes. Alma is a leader and Korahor may
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have just made an argument. Well, you're making a fine line
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distinction here. He can then generate accusations
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against the Nephite leaders for political purposes or for
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whatever. He's obviously disgruntled and
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people are, are donating and contributing and making
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sacrifices and giving their time and service.
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And you know, maybe it's got some residue of Nahorism in it
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as well. And Korahor and Nahor, the,
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they, they make arguments that sound similar to each other.
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In any event, Korahor does come into the land of Zarahemla and
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he, he is now an Antichrist. So that means that he is
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actually coming out and denying that the Messiah will come.
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He will go farther than that and he will even say there is not a
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God. At least he claims that for
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argument purposes. At verse 13 he said, why are you
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yoking yourself with such foolish things?
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Why do you look for a Christ? For no man knoweth of anything
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which is to come. So he's denying any prophecy of
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all? That's right.
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And Nahor is, he's kind of evasive on the doctrine of
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Christ. That's back in Alma chapter.
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One and. This guy.
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Now Korahor takes it a much more drastic step further.
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And even Cherum way back in Jacob 7, Jacob seven, he
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wouldn't deny Christ, but he tried to get Jacob to deny
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Christ. Well, he would like the Law of
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Moses, he just said. I don't believe in the future
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again. Yeah, so he has again, a a
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little nuanced answer there. But Corhor has no, no nuance
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about him. He comes straight out and makes
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strong arguments against the Nephi religion, against
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theology, against, you know, actually any belief in God.
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In verse 16, it is the effect of a frenzied mind that this
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derangement of your minds come because of the tradition of your
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Father's that led you away to believe these things which are
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not so. So Core Horace smart enough to
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even talk in terms of you might call psychology, he's using a
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psychological argument here that when we have spiritual
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experiences, it's well, it's just your body having some kind
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of frenzied reaction and that's just a very natural thing.
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Coral Horror was a naturalist. Definitely.
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And it's interesting when you go down the teachings of coral
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horror and in charting the Book of Mormon, I've created a chart,
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it's chart number 78 and of trying to identify what we would
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call what label can we put on these teachings of Korahor.
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Would you like to go down a little of that list?
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Oh, I'd love to. Well, he's also beside being
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anti Christian, he's a very negative person and he likes to
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emphasize the negative. He says that you will be bound
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down under a foolish and vain hope.
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He doesn't look at the positive sides of what may come from
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that, but he's looking at the negative the the downside.
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He is what I would call an agnostic.
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He says no man can know of anything which is to come.
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So he draws a line there. But what can you know?
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He is an empiricist, what we call a person who only believes
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things that you can touch or see.
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As he says, you cannot know of things which you do not see.
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So he's a tangible empiricist if you can't see and touch it.
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Jack, he sounds like our day and age.
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To pull together here, it's amazing how all these arguments
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are not things that surprise us. No, Satan uses the same tools.
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Yes, indeed. Korahor comes with a very
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elaborate arsenal of natural reactions to the gospel and to
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spiritual things, and he spent a lot of time thinking about them.
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Now in the book of Alma, we don't get any elaboration on
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each of his arguments and what he thinks justifies his
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positions, but we do get these thumbnails.
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Sophism, a sophistic way of things.
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Yet man is the measure of all things protagorist taught.
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He was a sophist and man fares in this life according to the
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management of the creature, he said.
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Yeah, that's verse 17. For every man prospeth according
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to his genius. And that's kind of naturalism.
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You're just naturally, if you're a genius you, or the more genius
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you are, the more you will prosper.
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And it says you can't do anything.
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That's a crime. There is no wickedness.
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If you're doing it according to what you want it you're genius.
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You're it's not a crime. That's right, He and that's we
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might call relativism definitely whatever a man does is
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allowable. And he also knows of the the
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power of what we call hedonism. And there were Greek
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philosophers who also back in the ancient world, argued that
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the best thing was hedonism, pleasure and.
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That's verse 18. It allowed men to commit
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whoredoms, telling them that there was man was dead, there
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was the end thereof. That's right.
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And that they but they might lift up their heads in
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wickedness. He's also a skeptic and we have
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a lot of modern manifestations of skepticism.
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And in verse 24, what does he say?
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You do not know that these things are true.
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He's just as skeptical and putting the burden of proof on
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the other side. Well, what is logical about
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that? Does Coral Horror know that the
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things that he is teaching are true any more than.
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No, he actually knows them less. Skeptics don't realize that the
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exact thing that they are accusing people of applies to
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them as well. Well, that's exactly what you
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see here, Coral Horror. And finally he comes out in the
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end in verse 28, where Alma pushes him a little bit.
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He makes a very strong statement about atheism, that God is a
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being who never has been seen or known, who never was, nor ever
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will be. And that's when Alma says,
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that's enough. Are you going to revile against
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God? And, you know, I really
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appreciate. Do you remember clear back in
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President Benson's writings when he started talking about the
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need to look at the Book of Mormon more seriously?
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And he described the Antichrist. He said the Book of Mormon
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exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and
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lays down contentions. It fortifies the humble
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followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies,
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doctrines of the devil in our day.
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The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to
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the type that we have today. God, with his infinite
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foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see
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the error and know how to combat false educational, political,
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religious and philosophical concepts of our time.
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President Benson said that clear back in conference in 1975.
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And here it applies even more than it did in 1975.
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You know, this is 50 years later and we're saying, oh, does
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Korahor ring a bell with the attacks against truth now?
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Before we get to the question of how Alma deals with Korahor,
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let's back up a few steps and say, well, how does Alma get
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into this conversation at all? So the chapter begins with a
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general description of the kinds of arguments that he's making in
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more than one place. Yes.
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He begins by making that argument in Jershon, and he is
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then expelled from Jershon. You know, I thought this was
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interesting because in the Old Testament there's just one high
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priest over all of Israel. But here we have a high priest
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that's acting over each city, and they bind him and take him
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to Zarahemla to go before Alma. It's sort of like going to be
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toward the chief chief chief of the high.
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Priests, That's correct. Because he's denying God.
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And why does it then end up at that highest level of decision
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making in the the city of Zarahem?
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OK, you're the attorney. You tell me.
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This raises and I've talked about this case extensively in
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the book on the legal cases of the Book of Mormon.
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And so you can read all the details that you want there.
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But basically we're we're now testing the scope of the law of
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King Mosiah that says that people can believe what they
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want, there will be freedom of religion.
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And that's a similar law that then was adopted in the land of
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Nephi. By the anti nephi lehis.
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And by the king there declaring that there would be freedom of
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religion, but legally, what does that mean?
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It doesn't mean you can privately worship what you want
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in your own home. Yes.
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Does it mean that you can go out and and preach your own
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doctrine? Probably.
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Does it mean that you can criticize other people's
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religion? Does it mean that you can
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blasphemy sacred things? Well, the Law of Moses is pretty
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harsh against blasphemy. And we know that blasphemy was
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still against the law. In fact, they were killed for
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it, weren't they? Yes, it's a capital offence.
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Now where does Korahor fit? It's a.
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Capital. Offense spectrum and if it's a
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potential capital offense, then that's why he will be referred
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to Alma the high priest. And he finally done ends up in
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that place much like Cherum and Jacob had been.
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Now Korahor discusses matters with Alma a little bit and and
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Alma of course asks him, what evidence do you have that there
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is no God? That's in verse 40.
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And he said, look, I've got all kinds of evidences, testimonies
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that God is true. I love that.
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So he's attacking him saying you have, he turns the table.
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Exactly. You know, you're asking me what
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evidence I have. I'm asking you what evidence you
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have. Corahor recognizes, OK, we have
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a standoff here. And in verse 43, Corahor says to
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Alma, OK, if you will show me a sign that I may be convinced
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that there is a God, then show me that God exists by
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manifesting that power. So in verse 44, he gives his
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answer by saying these other brethren have been preaching
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this, the prophets have preached this.
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Yeah, the whole earth and all the things that are upon the
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face of the earth. Yeah, it's motion.
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You know, he's talking about the planets and all these things are
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evidence of the supreme Creator. He feels like there is far more
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evidence that there is a God and Corahor doesn't have a leg to
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stand on. That's right.
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And Alma, in effect, says you've had enough signs, why should I
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give you another one? That's exactly what he's saying,
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right? By the way, as you've said,
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offering all of the the, the world, the cosmos, the heavens
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and have to realize that people in antiquity watch the stars a
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lot. They could see the constants of
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the constellations and the stars and the seasons and they kept
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track of days and years. They, they're watchers of the
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heavens and they can see that it's, it is an amazing thing,
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the world that we live in and the heavens above us.
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And astronomy these days is telling us even more.
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Joseph Smith talked about worlds without number.
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And we, we are seeing now farther than ever before with
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telescopes that are taking us into places where we thought
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nothing even existed. And there's more out there.
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So Alma is exactly right to say all of these things.
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All of these things do witness that there is a supreme creator
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now that those are the words he uses.
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So he's willing to go that far and say, Korahor, will you admit
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that? And Korahor will kind of back
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off on that one too. By the way, at BYU Hawaii, the
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Science building has a wonderful big panel on the outside of the
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building right by the entrance to it.
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And it has this scripture from Alma chapter 30 on it that all
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the earth testifies that there is a God, that there is a divine
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supreme Creator. But he still wants another sign,
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and the sign he gets is not one he expected.
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Well, Alma says if you want to sign and verse 49, I'll give you
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a sign, and the sign is that you will be struck dumb.
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What is it that Corahor has actually done wrong?
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He is speaking blasphemy. And he is denying the existence
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of God and other things. It's all speech.
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And so he has a natural consequence from his behavior is
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his punishment, and he is now silenced.
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This, like you say, is Italianic.
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We call it a form of punishment where the punishment should fit
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the crime. But come back to my initial
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point where this is answering a question that had not been
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resolved in Nephite jurisprudence yet.
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You can believe what you want, but if you do things, you will
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be punished, right? So the question is, is speaking
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doing something? Is it an action that is
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punishable, or is it speech that is protected as a part of your
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belief? Interesting.
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And I think the answer is there are certain kinds of speech that
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are protected, but like you say, some that go too far and denying
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Christ blasphemy is not going to be a tolerated form of speech
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and lying or also preaching false doctrine.
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Those kinds of things can be countered and and restrained.
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Now nothing's wrong has really happened to Korahor except he
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can't speak yet. And in fact, Alma is willing to
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relieve that sign if Korahor will then simply confess.
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And he gives Korahor a some questions.
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Starting in verse 50, there's a small little parallel here.
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Another chiasmus from 50 to 52, and he struck dumb and he can't
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speak. And the center point is all
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about this sign. He wanted to show him a sign, so
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he gave him a sign. And then it says in verse 52
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that Korhor put forth his hand and wrote saying, I know that
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I'm dumb, I can't speak, but he can still write.
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So he's going to be able to testify through the written
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word. And this is where he makes his
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confession now is through the writing in verse 53.
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He claims that the devil came to him and he misunderstood him as
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a being of light. So why doesn't the curse go away
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at that point? Because he says we don't trust
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you. I think you're going to go back
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and teach it wrong. Alma was the chief priest, yes,
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but it says here that verse 51 that the chief judge sees this
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and he is the one who writes to Korahor.
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So it's now a political issue. Well, it's a legal issue, right?
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Political. And now that the chief judge has
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four questions and he wants them in writing so that they can now
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hold Korahor publicly to having confessed these things.
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Whether Korahor could hear, is he deaf and dumb or not, we
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don't know. They write it out, but I think
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they are writing it out not because they couldn't speak it
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to them, but they want a written record.
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And put those four questions in front of him, and he must now
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respond to those four questions appropriately or the curse will
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not be removed. And So what are those questions?
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I don't know. Well, number one, are you
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convinced of the power of God? That's question #1 if you're
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convinced of the power of God, then that means there is a God.
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Yes, OK. Yeah, yeah.
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Question #2 In whom did you desire that Alma should show
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forth his sign? So if Alma's going to show some
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kind of miraculous sign, did you expect it to fall upon someone
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else? And might it have been negative?
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But whoever else, didn't you imagine that it should have been
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on you? Let's find out.
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You know that you recognize that you brought this upon yourself?
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Question #3 Is would ye that he should afflict others to show
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unto the assign? So beside the second question,
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acknowledging your responsibility, did you think
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that other people should be brought into this?
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And #4 Behold, He has shown unto you a sign, and now will you
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dispute more? Will you stop arguing and
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talking the way you have been among the people?
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So in Corahor's answer, does he do?
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Does he answer all four of those?
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No, no, OK. Corahor then writes, First I
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know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak.
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That was the curse that he was given.
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Verse 52. He and he admits to that, but I
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know that nothing save it were the power of God could bring
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this upon me. OK, he admits that.
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And yeah, I always knew that there was a God.
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There, he's admitting it, Jack. He admits that much, that there
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is a God of some kind, but now he's going to push the burden
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off on the devil. It wasn't my fault the devil has
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deceived me. He appeared and actually sent me
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to do these things in. The form of an Angel, he says.
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All we're gone astray. Verse 50.
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Three and he says, here's your scenario, tell them that there's
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no God and that he taught me what I should say and so on.
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And he admits that I taught them even until I had much success.
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But does he answer the question about?
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Are you going to stop speaking? That's right.
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He doesn't answer particularly the question about will you
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dispute no more. And he also doesn't explain
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anything about, you know, how this has affected other people
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and will you do anything to help to correct that.
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Now, I think Alma could have said that's enough.
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This is a, this is a victory. It does define the legal
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question, and we now have established that if you speak
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blasphemy and if you lead people into apostasy, those are things
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that we can restrain within our civil order.
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But Alma's the chief priest and he knows that God has been
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offended here and he knows that there must be witnesses and
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people must also see what Korahor has done.
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Alma then says in verse 55, if the curse is taken from you, you
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will still again lead the hearts of this people astray.
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I'm just leaving it up to God's will.
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God imposed the curse and if he wants to take it away, I'm not
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going to absolve you from this. You have not yet, even though
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you've you've explained things, you haven't repented and you
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haven't gone through the the process of being forgiven of
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your sins and transgressions. Which Alma knew very well what
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that meant. And he, yeah, if you would like
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to come, we can tell you more about that Korahor.
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That's interesting. So I see that that's what's
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going on. And as as a result, he is cast
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out. And remember we talked about
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this being possibly at a Jubilee kind of year.
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Now what do they do on the year of Jubilee?
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They have a a scapegoat, They have a a goat that is cast out
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with the sins where they expel him.
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Now, I'm not saying that Corahor is that that goat?
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But it's interesting to see that type here.
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That's how the people thought, and one of their important
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ceremonies was to sacrifice 1 and have another one that is
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sent out so that the evil can be taken away from the city.
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This is all Leviticus chapter 16.
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And so they have. Atonement and Jubilee are all
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connected with each other very closely.
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I appreciate that they send out another proclamation that says
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the teachings of Korhor. This all verse 57 that you must
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speedily repent, lest the same judgments come upon them.
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That's now making it a part of the law of the land that the law
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of Mosiah does not protect this kind of speech.
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It says in verse 58, they were all convinced of the wickedness
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of Korahor and were converted again to the Lord.
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So what does he do? Well, he goes over to the place
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where the Zoramites were, having been led by a man whose name was
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Zoram. And remember that the Zoramites
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are kind of in that middle. We have Lamanites, Lemuelites
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and Ishmaelites in the South. Zoram stays with Nephi, but we
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have Nephites, Jacobites and Josephites in the north and
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Zoram. The Zoramites remain kind of
25:37
separate. They are not descendants of
25:38
Lehigh. And it's now been 400 years
25:40
later, they're living a little bit of a different life,
25:43
different people. And they have more voluntarily
25:46
chosen to follow Nephi. They could have fallen like
25:48
followed Layman. And so they are separate.
25:52
And they have a land called Antionum, and over there in the
25:57
land of Antionum, the rich Zoramites, who are very
26:00
militaristic, we will see them as very expert soldiers.
26:06
And they've been cooperating with the Nephites, but they will
26:10
soon decide that they are going to go against the Nephi.
26:13
Well, at this point they don't, they kick out, they don't even
26:16
listen to Korhor. I mean, it's interesting they it
26:18
says that they he's trodden on. This is verse 59.
26:23
Trodden on until he's dead when he goes there.
26:26
Now it's. Interesting that that's where he
26:28
chooses to go though, is to these people.
26:30
Yeah, It doesn't tell us whether he was run upon by a mob, people
26:35
who just, you know, go after him or whether there's a there
26:40
happens to be a cart loaded with a bunch of goods that and, and
26:44
it runs over him. Or is he trampled and, you know,
26:49
he was run upon? Is it by animals or by people
26:52
or, Or is he now just being told you're not welcome here?
26:58
It's so ironic, isn't it? You know, it's just totally
27:01
interesting that he's rejected even by those who have
27:04
influenced by him. You know, these people have been
27:07
influenced by him and he's not been rejected of them.
27:09
We got a good summary, though, in verse 60 and whether this is
27:12
the editor of Alma's book himself.
27:17
I think so because it says. And thus we see the end of him
27:21
who perverted the ways of the Lord.
27:23
And I wanted to look into who's doing these editing statements.
27:26
You know, we've got a lot of statements from Alma and then a
27:28
few editorial vignettes. And so I looked up and, and thus
27:33
we see across the whole Book of Mormon.
27:35
And as you can see on my chart, there's some fascinating
27:38
connections between Alma the Younger's words here in his
27:43
text, where this is mentioned far more often than any other
27:47
author in the Book of Mormon. Even though the chart is just a
27:51
fun study to make my scripture study more interesting, it is
27:55
again evidence of multi authorship that this text is
28:00
written carefully by different people and each book is as
28:04
complete and independent of itself.
28:06
Even though we have records going back to Lehigh, going back
28:10
to King Benjamin, multi authors are compiling this book.
28:14
Again, it is a book of God. It is not written in the 19th
28:18
century by one person. And that is absolutely true, and
28:22
it's not just written by people who know the world of the 19th
28:27
century. What we're talking about here,
28:29
in this case of Korahor fits so well into ancient jurisprudence,
28:33
into the Law of Moses, into things that only a person like
28:37
the high priest or like the chief judge of a nation who
28:41
knows his tradition would have put into a story like this and
28:46
would have occurred as an actual event.
28:48
And President Benson says they're in there for our benefit
28:51
because it testifies of our day. And these false things that you
28:55
went through with Korahor are very applicable to us.
28:58
But let's move on to Chapter 31. Now we get to have another
29:07
missionary experience. And this now is with the Zora
29:10
Mites. And it's not just Alma.
29:13
He brings 7 companions with him. He brings three of the sons of
29:16
Mosiah. He goes down to Melik and gets
29:18
his good friends Amulek and Zezrim from his previous
29:22
missionary efforts. And then he brings two of his
29:25
sons. He leaves Heliumin in Zarahemla
29:28
and he brings Shiblon and Coriantimer.
29:30
Now why do you think Alma goes to Antionum?
29:35
Why does he go proselyte now to the Zoramites?
29:41
He knows that the the people have rejected Korahor.
29:47
At least that's a good thing, do you think?
29:52
He, however, knows that Antionum is a very strategic place, and
30:01
in fact, we will soon learn that the society in Antionum has been
30:06
divided between the rich and the poor.
30:09
I had just thought he was inspired to go there next, but
30:12
you're saying no, There's some very significant political
30:15
reasons and geographic reasons with the Lamanites.
30:18
And I think he sees this Cora horror episode as his opener.
30:24
This is his opportunity to say, you recognize the problems with
30:30
Cora Horror, and now let's build on that and let me give you more
30:36
of what's happening in Zarahemla, because they're not
30:40
in Zarahemla. No, a whole different Township.
30:42
We need to draw you closer. And yes, thank you.
30:45
You've helped us with the Ammonites and being put into the
30:48
land of Jershon. So he has good reasons to go and
30:53
thank them. But as the high priest, you
30:56
know, the chief judge could go just as much and say let's
30:59
satisfy some political concerns and let's make some political
31:03
promises and. But it's Alma who goes.
31:05
I think the main thing that he's concerned with is that the
31:08
people there are not keeping the teachings of King Benjamin that
31:13
you shall not have poor among you.
31:15
Now, that doesn't mean you should kick the poor out.
31:17
It means you should take care of them so they're not poor.
31:19
But in verse four, we learn exactly what it was that
31:22
motivated Alma's coming, and it is that the Nephites greatly
31:27
fear that the Zoramites would enter into a correspondence that
31:31
means more than just communication.
31:33
This means an alliance with the Lamanites, and that it would be
31:37
the means of great loss on the part of the Nephites.
31:40
Now, obviously if the Zoramites go over you, you're not just
31:45
losing population, but you are losing military leaders, you're
31:48
losing the aristocrats, you're losing the wealth of the city.
31:52
And by losing someone who's an insider, you then have a greater
31:56
power on the enemy because they know where the weak parts are
32:00
and what they've been taught and how they're being trained.
32:02
That's good. And in addition, as we will
32:05
learn in the later chapters of the Book of Alma, it is the
32:09
Zoramite commanders who know the territory.
32:13
They know the strengths and weaknesses of every city in the
32:18
northern part of the land of Nephi.
32:21
And with that, you can see that they would be very worried to
32:27
have that military knowledge. They've already seen the
32:30
Lamanites attacking down in Ammaniah, which was a Nephite
32:33
town, and that was in the South, and now we've got others in the
32:38
north. And as we said before in the
32:41
last lesson, with the new configuration of the Ammonites,
32:46
this means that if the Lamanites control Jershon and Antionum,
32:51
they surround the Nephite people, and that's not good for
32:55
military security. And we have a beautiful little
32:57
chiasmus in verse five. And now as the preaching of the
33:00
word was great tendency to lead the people to that which was
33:03
just. And then here comes the center.
33:05
Yay. It had more powerful effect upon
33:08
the minds of the people than the sword or anything else that had
33:11
happened unto them. Here's the next point coming
33:13
back out to the beginning. Therefore Elmo thought the IT
33:16
was expedient that he should try the virtue and then again at the
33:20
very beginning the word of God. So just a little 3 point in and
33:25
out, very small so. In addition to the political
33:28
questions, they also had reasons to want to come to Antionum
33:35
because they were not keeping the commandments.
33:37
So what are some of the commandments that they?
33:39
Aren't keeping says they think they can only pray one day a
33:44
week when they're in their buildings, their synagogues, and
33:47
then in verse 11 it says they perverted the way of the Lord in
33:51
other instances. And particularly back in verse
33:54
nine, they would not observe to keep the commandments of God.
33:58
That's probably the 10 commandments and his statutes,
34:01
and that's probably Exodus chapters 21 to 23, which are
34:05
usually called the statutes. And so they are basically saying
34:09
we're not going to keep the law of Moses at all.
34:12
Exodus chapters 21 to 23 are the judgments that were adopted by
34:20
Moses in implementing the 10 commandments and other things.
34:25
These are the statutes that begin by saying if a man such
34:29
and such, if a man does such and such, if a man this or if a man
34:34
that. These are called casualistic
34:36
laws, and they are coupled with the Thou Shalt not Ten
34:41
Commandments, which are prohibitive.
34:44
But they go up and they pray, and from verses 15 to 18 we hear
34:49
this Zormite prayer and it's holy, Holy God.
34:52
We believe that thou art God. We believe that thou art holy.
34:55
We believe that thou art a spirit, and we'll be a spirit
34:58
forever. And then they go on to this
35:00
problem of election in verse 16. They believe they are better
35:05
than everyone else. We've been separated from our
35:07
brethren. I think this is similar to the
35:09
thought that came out of some of the early Christian thought that
35:13
we are the elect, that God has elected us.
35:16
We have no agency. If we're good, we will be always
35:19
good. Calvin grew on this.
35:20
Saint Augustine, though, introduced them in some of our
35:24
thoughts. And here it's being attacked.
35:26
You know, I think this is so significant that the devil uses
35:29
the same things over and over again, and Alma shares this so
35:34
that we'll change. The word elected can also be
35:37
translated as chosen. Yes, because when you are
35:41
eclectic, you are from, you are read out or you're brought out
35:45
of your chosen from and and so they are saying.
35:51
We're better than other people. Oh, interesting, because he uses
35:55
the same words though that Korohor used.
35:57
We are not LED away after the foolish traditions of our
36:01
brethren, which hath bind them down to a belief of Christ which
36:05
does lead their hearts to wander far from Thee, our God, and we
36:09
thank thee that we are chosen, et cetera, et.
36:11
Cetera and good to point this out in verse 17, how their
36:15
prayer is actually similar to the language that Korohor had
36:19
used about being LED away after the foolish traditions of their
36:22
brethren. This may explain why Korahor
36:27
thinks he can make some headway by going to Antionum, or maybe
36:33
he even learned this from them. And again, we don't know why he
36:38
was trampled on, but when he comes back with a sign of
36:43
cursing, the superstitious people would not want him in the
36:48
town. But maybe it was accidental.
36:50
He may have been just run upon, or there might have been
36:53
something going on that he gets trampled.
36:55
OK, Whatever it is, it's a sign that Korahor was not accepted.
37:00
And we know that this wording in the prayer was also troublesome
37:04
to Alma. And I think it's interesting the
37:06
place where they're offering this prayer is on a.
37:07
Ramyamtam. Any idea what that word might
37:10
mean? Yeah, in Hebrew it has some very
37:12
significance because they even say being interpreted is a holy
37:15
stand. Yes, and the Hebrew word ram
37:18
means high place, so it is a high place separated and so on.
37:25
But then we get Alma's prayer, and to compare the Prophet's
37:33
prayer to the Azor Might prayer is really helpful.
37:38
I feel like we can feel the spirit of the Prophet and the
37:41
importance of the truth so much more clearly when we compare and
37:45
contrast the two. And it starts in verse 26.
37:49
He sees how they were lifted up in great pride and and they are
37:53
standing now outside of the city and they have a solemn prayer.
37:58
All of these missionaries, the companions who are there, and
38:02
they know they're going into a very difficult situation, but
38:05
they pray. And Alma leads the prayer
38:07
circle. He lifts up his voice to heaven
38:10
and cries. Oh, how long, Oh Lord, wilt thou
38:14
suffer, that thy servant shall dwell here below in the flesh,
38:17
to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men.
38:21
Now he's the word Lord, I take it to mean Jehovah, because then
38:26
he switches. Behold, O God, Elohim, and we
38:31
then have three prayers asking for help from Elohim.
38:38
Now what he does here is he presents the case before God,
38:41
Elohim the Judge, and now says, here are the things that they've
38:45
done wrong. They've lifted themselves up,
38:48
they've puffed themselves up with pride their costly apparel,
38:52
and they won't let the poor speak.
38:54
And they say that they are chosen.
38:57
And they say that there thou hast made it known to them that
39:01
there shall be no Messiah. And then he goes back to O Lord
39:04
God in. Verse three And he wants to be
39:06
sure that, O Lord, God is coupled there in verse 30 O
39:12
Lord, how long wilt thou suffer that these things shall happen?
39:15
O Lord, wilt thou give me strength?
39:17
O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful.
39:21
Wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ?
39:24
O Lord, wilt thou grant me that I may have strength, and may
39:28
suffer in patience? Verse 32 O Lord, wilt thou
39:30
comfort my soul, and give me success, and to all of us.
39:34
And he names his companions there.
39:36
O Lord, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ?
39:39
Verse 34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have
39:43
success? He's kind of saying the same
39:45
thing over and over again. Yeah, and then he finishes the
39:48
prayer in verse 35. With two more, O Lords, O Lord,
39:52
their souls are precious. Therefore give unto us, O Lord,
39:56
power and wisdom, that we may bring these our brethren again
40:00
unto thee. How many, O Lords, are there?
40:04
There are 10. And so in this solemn prayer.
40:10
The high priest has invoked the name Jehovah 10 times, which is
40:16
exactly the number of times that, according to Jewish
40:19
tradition, a high priest will mention out loud the name of
40:24
Jehovah on the Day of Atonement. And he is now offering the
40:29
atonement to the Tsaramites with this prayer.
40:33
I think that is very powerful. And it's not just.
40:38
I mean, who would ever notice that?
40:40
I'm sure Oliver Cowdrey didn't say.
40:42
Should we change this God to Lord?
40:44
Yeah, I can't. We get a little variety here.
40:46
You know, I learned in school that we shouldn't be redundant.
40:48
No the but the 10 times. Such a.
40:50
Complete. Translation.
40:52
That these 10 petitions to God come in response to the fact
40:57
that they won't keep the 10 commandments.
40:59
Oh, interesting. Well, I also really appreciate
41:02
that instead of just saying, oh, I'm suffering, Get Me Out of
41:04
this mess. May I suffer with patience In
41:09
verse 31, I you, you mentioned that as you went through, but I
41:11
just thought, oh, that should be my prayer.
41:15
May I suffer in patience when we are in times of suffering,
41:19
emotional, physical, and then we get the laying on of hands, an
41:24
ordination of some sort. They use the word in verse 36 of
41:28
clapped his hands upon them. And as we looked that up, I read
41:32
some Brother Nibley on that and it's interesting.
41:35
The use of clapping can also be in the ancient language, holding
41:39
or placing clasping, yes. Oh, there may be a hand clasping
41:44
together as they all clasp hands.
41:47
Interesting in this prayer. That's right.
41:49
And I think that, you know, we do offer prayers in a prayer
41:54
circle setting in holy places. And it also says they were
41:59
filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Lord answers Alma's
42:01
prayer in verse 38. The Lord provided for them that
42:05
they should hunger not, neither they thirst if they gave them
42:08
strength, that they would suffer no manner of afflictions save it
42:12
were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.
42:15
Now this was according to the prayer of Alma, and this because
42:19
he prayed in faith. I cannot say enough good about
42:24
the power of prayer, especially prayer in faith.
42:28
And like missionaries often do when it says, we just went forth
42:33
in verse 37, taking no thought for themselves what they should
42:38
eat or what they should drink or what they should put on.
42:41
And they don't know when they're coming back they but they go
42:45
forward. They aren't carrying a whole
42:48
bunch of supplies. They're going only with the
42:51
strength of the. Lord.
42:52
And so next week we then get to hear what happens to their
42:57
mission. We've heard their preparation.
42:59
And so much of the success of a mission is the spiritual
43:02
preparation. And these eight companions were
43:06
spiritually prepared. And we can face our challenges
43:11
by being spiritually prepared as well.
43:14
And as Alma testified of Christ, we testify of Christ that He is
43:19
the Savior and Redeemer. And we pray, O Lord, that He
43:23
will bless all of you as you are reading the Book of Mormon, that
43:27
his Spirit will be upon you and that you will be inspired as to
43:33
the things that you should do and what you can do to be
43:37
instruments in the hands of Jesus Christ.
43:39
These in these latter days. That's what the Book of Mormon
43:44
is here to help us with. Help us know of His love, His
43:48
goodness, and His bringing to pass much righteousness.
43:54
Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
43:58
Amen.